University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
University of Aarhus ECOTOURISM AS A WAY TO PROTECT ...
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Ecotourism as a sustainable way to protect nature<br />
2. <strong>ECO<strong>TO</strong>URISM</strong><br />
2.1. Definition <strong>of</strong> Ecotourism<br />
Until recently, there has been some confusion concerning the etymology<br />
or origin <strong>of</strong> the term ecotourism, as is evident in the tremendous volume <strong>of</strong><br />
literature on the topic (Fennell, 1999). It is quite obvious that ecotourism is a<br />
special part <strong>of</strong> tourism, as the "Eco" (1) label means that there is some "natural"<br />
concern within this branch <strong>of</strong> tourism.<br />
On the following pages we will give an introduction to this extremely<br />
complicated and diversified field. We will also present the major approaches <strong>of</strong><br />
tourism recently used, and in the end <strong>of</strong> the theoretical part we will carry out<br />
some final definition <strong>of</strong> "ecotourism" including all the important aspects.<br />
2.1.1. Branches <strong>of</strong> tourism<br />
The most narrow definition <strong>of</strong> tourism has been presented by the World<br />
Tourism Organisation (W<strong>TO</strong>) (2) . According to this definition tourism is any<br />
form <strong>of</strong> travel that involves a stay <strong>of</strong> least one night but less than one year away<br />
from home. But generally tourism is simply defined as domestic or<br />
international travel for leisure and recreation (Roe, 1997).<br />
Within the huge group <strong>of</strong> different types <strong>of</strong> tourist activities we can<br />
distinguish some major segments. Basically, tourism consists <strong>of</strong> two major<br />
parts: mass tourism and alternative tourism (Mieczkowski, 1995). The<br />
alternative "branch" may be divided into many other parts like: agro-tourism,<br />
wildlife tourism, adventure tourism, nature and ecotourism (see figure 2).<br />
1 oikos - from Greek words, means - house or dwelling, (Odum, 1971).<br />
2 The World Tourism Organisation is the leading international organisation in the field <strong>of</strong> travel and<br />
tourism<br />
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